Downtown Miami church denied historic status

A Miami church dwarfed by high-rise condominium towers has been denied historic status by the city’s preservation board, the Miami Herald reported.

City officials had sought the special designation for St. Jude Melkite Greek Catholic Church because of the key role it played in the Cuban Revolution. Sisters from the Assumption, an order of nuns who prayed at the church and lived in nearby buildings, helped Carmelite sisters expelled from Cuba after Fidel Castro seized power.

A small group of members of the 66-year-old church, located on exclusive Brickell Avenue, supported the push for historic status.

The vote by the Historical and Environmental Preservation Board took place late last week; Saint Jude’s leaders have spent at least $30,000 to fight the designation, which their lawyer argued would increase the church’s operating expenses and reduce the value of its property. [Miami Herald] —Emily Schmall